It’s strange how the change in my appearance changed people’s attitude towards me. It was as if they now took more notice of me, as if they paid closer attention.
It kind of bothered me. For me it’s the inside that matters, not the outside. Appearances create illusions that can be dissolved within a blink of an eye. A word or an action is usually enough to set a crack in a person’s alluring armor and through that crack you can see the person for what he really is.
Sometimes I got the impression that Virtus was a big stage and people stood on it acting their part and trying to impress everyone around them with their looks and fake gestures and big words.
I discussed it one day with Daisy over tea and I told her exactly what I thought.
“Impression is everything my dear”, she replied seriously. “It is how you carry yourself through life. It’s a means of acquiring what you want. We live in a vain and difficult world, entangled in an eternal struggle for survival and success. And appearances always help in that struggle. But that’s just one side of the coin, because for many people ―and take you and me for example― choosing the right appearance is a way of feeling more confident and comfortable in their own skin; a way of expressing on the outside what lies hidden in the inside”.
I knew she was right, but I just didn’t think there were many people like me and her out there. And as I was growing up I kept encountering more and more the power of appearances.
I still do. Now more than ever, I can see the great effect it can have on people. I see it everyday with Rosie. Her ethereal appearance makes her stand out in a crowd, always attracting all eyes on her. She is fully aware of the effect her looks have on others, and she makes sure she takes advantage of that and gain what she wants. It is like possessing a magical power that bends people to her will. I have seen it happen multiple times with both Alex and Max and it makes me mad – (sorry guys, but it’s true!)
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think that a person who wears ‘a facade’ is a bad person. It’s just that I can’t bring myself to trust them enough. Rosie for example: I still haven’t found out what lies underneath her charming surface. She remains a mystery to me.
And I really don’t like unsolved mysteries.